BioBlitz 2013: Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve

BioBlitz 2015

Louisiana’s Mississippi River delta is a restless interplay of land and water: treeless marshes, distributary
channels, slow-moving bayous, forested natural levees, freshwater swamps, and barrier islands. Jean
Lafitte’s Barataria Preserve encompasses 23,000 acres of this unique and diverse natural resource. To
better understand, appreciate, and protect this national treasure, the National Park Service and National
Geographic Society are teaming up to host a 24-hour BioBlitz species count and a two-day Biodiversity
Festival, May 17-18. Part scientific endeavor, part festival, and part outdoor classroom, BioBlitz will bring
together 100 leading scientists and naturalists from around the country, thousands of local citizens of all
ages, and nearly 2,000 students from the greater New Orleans area.

Be part of an expert-led species inventory team to discover, count, map, and learn about the park’s
diverse organisms, ranging from microscopic bacteria, insects, fish, and alligators to tiny wildflowers
and towering bald cypress trees. Spots on inventory teams go quickly, so register online now to insure a spot on a team.

Celebrate the nature and culture of Louisiana with music, food, art, and hands-on, family-friendly
activities provided by local science and environmental organizations. This free, family-friendly event is
open to explorers of all ages. No registration is required for the festival.

In addition to volunteer scientists leading inventory teams and people going on the teams, additional help is needed to ensure the event runs smoothly. We are seeking event volunteers to help with check in, assist school groups, run art activities, and more. Sign up online if you are interested in helping.

Parking and Transportation

There is no parking at the Barataria Preserve. All parking for BioBlitz land-based inventories and
the Biodiversity Festival will take place at Bayou Segnette State Park, 7777 Westbank Expressway,
Westwego, LA, 70094. Free entrance to the park, free parking, and free roundtrip shuttles to the preserve
will be provided. Handicapped-accessible shuttles will be available.

Advertisement

In the Spotlight

The National Geographic Society has issued 10,000 grants funding research and exploration since 1890—including ten National Geographic grant projects that, according to an internal panel, "have made the greatest difference in understanding the Earth."

Listen: Explorer Interviews

Listen to Nat Geo Explorer Interviews

Boyd heads out of the studio to join National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Bob Ballard aboard his vessel the E/V Nautilus. Currently in Turkey, Ballard tells Boyd about the many shipwrecks he is finding in the Mediterranean. You can follow Ballard and his team, live as they explore the ocean at www.nautiluslive.org.

National Geographic grantee Valerie Clarklicks frogs for a living. As Clark tells Boyd, she’s not looking for Prince Charming. Instead, she is studying how the diet of frogs in Madagascar relates to the toxicity of their skin.

National Geographic grantee and paleoanthropologist Lee Berger has been searching for the fossils of human ancestors, but it was his 9-year-old son who stumbled upon the find of a lifetime: a partial skeleton that may very well change our understanding of the genus Homo.

Some go swimming with dolphins or stingrays, Brad Norman, National Geographic Emerging Explorer and marine conservationist, talks about swimming with the largest fish in the world: the whale shark. Norman speaks with Boyd about his research concerning whale shark habitats, tracking and conservation.

National Geographic Emerging Explorer Losang Rabgey has found her life's work in strengthening rural communities on the Tibetan plateau, which includes building schools to educate local students. Rabgey joins Boyd with updates on the successful work of Machik, the non-profit she founded and now directs.

National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert capture astounding images of African wildlife in their beautiful films. The Jouberts live in the African bush alongside the lions and other animals they profile. They explain to Boyd that, because big cats are in such danger, their work is now focused on conservation projects such as the Cause an Uproar program.

National Geographic Emerging Explorer and virus hunter Nathan Wolfe says there is a disease pandemic lurking just around the corner. But, we can prepare ourselves. Wolfe says there are even ways to harness and use the power of viruses. Wolfe joins Boyd to talk about his new book, The Viral Storm: The Dawn of a New Pandemic Age, which is changing the way we think about viruses.

National Geographic Emerging Explorer Joshua Ponte was a successful young English entrepreneur when, over breakfast one morning, his eye fell on a newspaper ad that said "Gorilla Reintroduction Program, Gabon." His life has never been the same since. Pursuing his passion for conservation, Ponte moved to a central African forest where 13 orphaned gorillas were being studied. Boyd talks with Ponte about the joys and dangers of raising young gorillas.

Many people picture archaeology as the swashbuckling adventure portrayed in the Indiana Jones trilogy. But in reality, it can be much more tedious than discovering the Holy Grail and fighting Nazis. National Geographic grantee Bruce Bachand has been meticulously sewing a 3,000 bead necklace back together in Mexico after discovering a pre-Olmec burial site that housed a tribal chief and his wife, undisturbed for several centuries.

Turkey is famed for its honey, which is music to Boyd's ears—he has a notorious sweet tooth. He visited National Geographic grantee Cat Jaffee, a beekeeper who left her job in Washington, D.C. to make honey in rural Turkey. She says that bees harvest pollen from their surroundings: the best honey comes from bees with natural surroundings, large meadows, rather than urban environments. Most people, Jaffee says, eat honey that is basically a synthetic mix of sugars from all over the world.

Most of human history existed before the advent of GPS technologies that can pinpoint where we are at any time. National Geographic Fellow and ethnonavigation expert, Elizabeth Lindsey has taken it upon herself to understand what it was like for Polynesian explorers to colonize tiny, remote islands across the south Pacific Ocean. To better appreciate the skills it takes to study the clouds and winds in search of land, Lindsey plans to join a team of Polynesian women who are island-hopping using traditional methods: no GPS, no cellphones and no compass.